We witness Ola committing suicide to avoid rape, and Jaja's mentor Obasi being beaten to death. The Middle Passage is described in heartbreaking detail and does not shy away from the horrors of the conditions that were endured and the reality that women were sexually abused. The leader of the slaves in this story is The Old African, who as a young man was kidnapped from his home along with his wife Ola. )Īs the article states "The event's moral value as a story of resistance towards slavery has symbolic importance in African American folklore and literary history" and is captivatingly told by the talented author and illustrator. (More info can be found about it in this Wiki article. The re-imaged story is based off the 1803 slave revolt in Georgia and mass suicide that occurred when newly captured Igbo people took over the ship that was transporting them to the various plantations that had bought them after they survived the Middle Passage. Author Julius Lester and illustrator Jerry Pinkney team together again to tell a beautifully told magical realism tale for mature youth that is based on fact.
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